Personal Injury Cases and the Statute of Limitations in Texas

The clock starts ticking the moment that you are injured in an accident in Texas, whether it is an auto crash, a slip-and-fall injury or a worksite accident. The state of Texas has set a statute of limitations when it comes to personal injury cases. You have two years from the date of your accident to file a claim for damages against the party at fault. If you don’t file your claim within that two-year period, you may never be able to recover damages for your injury, no matter how serious it turns out to be.

Accident Claim Steps – Personal Injury Lawyer Houston TX

The most common accident claim type that we file for clients is an auto accident claim. We’ll use that as an example of the steps you should take if you’re involved in an accident and the other driver is at fault. A lot of people don’t realize that a whiplash injury or a spinal injury can take several weeks — or even months — before any symptoms appear.

You might feel fine in the moments after a “fender bender,” but then a few weeks later you find yourself in so much pain that you can’t go to work. You want to create an official record of the date of the accident, in case you don’t show any injury symptoms right then and there. That statute of limitations can come back to bite you if you don’t take these steps seriously after an accident:

Don’t Say Anything!An accident can be scary and frustrating, so a lot of people like to get out of their car and yell at the other driver. Don’t do that! In fact, don’t say anything to the other driver, other than exchanging insurance information. The other driver’s insurance company will claim that you were not injured if you get out of your car and start yelling. “She looked perfectly healthy, your honor!”

Call the Police. This is crucial for establishing your claim. Call the police and get medical help in the immediate aftermath of a crash. Don’t give an official statement to the police until after you’ve spoken with a personal injury lawyer. (The police can still gather evidence at the scene and take a statement from you later.) The police report on the accident and a medical report on your injuries are important pieces of evidence you will need for a claim.

Don’t Sign Anything. Don’t provide any sort of written statement, not to the police and not to your own insurance company, until after you speak with one of our personal injury attorneys.

Don’t harm your own case by failing to establish the date of an accident. The statute of limitations can sneak up on you a lot faster than you might think! If you’ve been injured in any type of accident in Houston, TX, call the law office of Schechter, McElwee, Shaffer & Harris for a free consultation and help with filing a personal injury claim.